The authors permit this document to be freely copied, but not altered in any way.

For convenience here is a full version of the revised terrain rules with V 2.1 amendments incorporated. These are the only Official DBM Terrain Rules, designed for use without modification in all competitions using player-positioned terrain.

PLAYING AREA

An ideal playing area is 2.7m (108") x 1.5m (60") [a standard table tennis table] if using 25mm figures, or 1.8m (72") x 1.2m (48") if using smaller figures. If competition organisers use 1.8m x 1.2m tables for 25mm games, armies should not exceed 350AP, and all dimensions specified in paces (p) in Terrain Choosing [P.12-13] should be reduced to 5/8 normal.

TERRAIN CHOOSING

An historical invader chose the season and route of invasion, often beside a waterway [WW], along a river, or, if nervous of mounted enemy, through hilly country. The defender chose where on that route to oppose him, such as on a transverse river or line of hills, in ambush country or near a city or fortress. We simulate this with terrain features placed on top of a flat playing area notionally first bisected then trisected into 4 flank and 2 central sectors, which are then numbered 1-6. Terrain features can be linear, such as a waterway, rivers or external roads, or realistically shaped area features such as a built-up area [BUA], hills or woods. Only features specified by our DBM army list books for the defender's army can be used. A BUA can always include 0-2 connecting internal roads and, if on a hill, a link road to the bottom of the hill. Fields must be contiguous with a BUA and open unless enclosed fields are specified. Features cannot be superimposed, except roads, a hill on a waterway (as an island or promontory), a BUA incorporating a hill or island or placed as a promontory, or marsh, rocks, dunes or a BUA partly replacing beach. Terrain is laid in 2 phases.

1. The invader can choose whether or not to provide and position one only of the following:
If he is allowed naval elements and has at least half the maximum, a WW along one short table edge.
A river flowing from one long table edge to the other and between 600p and 1,200p from one short edge.
A road from one central sector table edge to the other, plus 0-4 feature equivalents of entirely steep hills.

2. The defender now provides and positions 1 each of any compulsory terrain features of a type not yet present, then 2-3 further feature equivalents of his choice, water features, BUA and any contiguous fields first, except that he can use only:

One WW, and only if not already present and he positions a BUA in contact with it. Unless it is compulsory, he can only include a WW in his terrain selection if he dices and scores 5 or 6.

One river, and only if it flows from one short table edge to that opposite, or to a WW, or to an attacker-positioned river, and it is at least 600p from both long table edges and does not cross the table's transverse centre line.

One BUA, and only if in contact with a WW, or, if there is none, in a flank sector or placed so that a gateway or included road links with an invader-placed road. The BUA and any fields must all be entirely within 1 sector.

Up to 2 external roads, and only if they link with a BUA or join/cross a previous road, or roads are compulsory.

An area feature cannot be more than 1,000p across in any direction, nor less than 100p. If it nowhere exceeds 500p across it counts as 1/2 a feature equivalent, if it anywhere exceeds 750p as 1 1/2. A BUA on a hill or island counts as the sum of both. No player can use more than 3 features of the same feature equivalence and going. An area feature can be:
Good going [GGo], of bare gentle slopes, open fields, or of water features, bog or marsh frozen by cold weather.
Rough going [RGo], of moderately boggy, rocky or brushy gentle slopes or lower ground or a sunken gully.
Difficult going [DGo], of steep or wooded, vine-planted or terraced slopes, woods [Wd], olive or other orchards or oasis palm groves [O], small fields enclosed by walls, hedges, irrigation channels or paddy bunds [E], vineyards [V], marsh [M], sand dunes [D], and built-up areas [BUA] unless manning perimeter fortifications.

Each compulsory and chosen area feature except any BUA or contiguous fields is diced for in turn and must be placed entirely in the corresponding sector. A second dice throw determines the position of the feature within the sector: 1,2,3,4 it must touch a table edge or waterway, 5,6 its centre must not be within 500p of the table edge. If it cannot be fitted in without moving earlier features, it is discarded. Each player must choose all his features before he positions any.

Space between features is good going and may represent unimproved pasture, steppe or hard desert. An element that is in more than one type of going is treated as in whichever would slow mounted troops more. Camels of any troop type except baggage count dunes and brush as good going and other rough going as difficult.

A hill is a single feature whether some or all of its slopes are steep, rough or wooded, or all are gentle and bare. Unless modelled with crests, hills are assumed to slope from a central ridge or point down to their edge. Hill or gully slopes give an advantage in close combat to an element with at least part of its front edge upslope of all the opposing element.

External roads [Rd] may be unpaved tracks. Each counts as 1/2 a feature equivalent. It must be approx. element width or less, with troops moving astride. It can go through or over features placed before or after, crossing rivers by bridges supplied by the defender or fords. Terrain both sides must be identical to show what going an element is in if in combat.

Water features can be either waterways [WW] suitable for sea-going vessels, such as the sea, large lakes or giant rivers such as the Rhine, Danube, Euphrates, Tigris, lower Nile or Yangtse, or ordinary rivers [Rv].

Only one waterway [WW] can be used, extending between 300p and 900p inward from a short table edge and with no more than half extending more than 600p inward. It is edged by a further 50p to 100p of beach (50p if not depicted), except where a promontory, marsh, rocky or dune area feature, or the quay, defences or foreshore of a BUA are placed. Beaches are good going to land troops. Unless frozen, waterways are impassable to land elements but passable to all naval elements. A BUA or hill touching a waterway can project into it as a promontory if no closer than 300p to the table edge. An island (a hill completely surrounded by the waterway it touches) cannot be closer than 300p to the table edge nor closer than 1 element width to the shore. A gap no more than 200p wide between island and shore is treated as a river for movement and combat by naval and land troops. If waterway placement is obstructed by hills on both flanks, those on the less hilly flank are moved directly inland the minimum necessary to become islands or promontories.

The first river [Rv] placed must flow from a specified table edge to the opposite edge, or to a waterway along that edge. If both players place a river, the defender's must flow from a short table edge to the first. A river can only curve to the extent that no two points on its mid-stream line are separated by a straight line distance of less than 3/4 of the distance between them measured along the mid-stream line. Its width must not exceed 200p. Movement across is only possible at 45-135 degrees to the flow, and is not rough or difficult going, but penalised in other ways. An element counts as wading a river if any part of it is in the river. A river can be crossed safely without delay by bridge or road ford. Its nature elsewhere is unknown until the first player attempts to wade it off-road or place boats on it. It will then be found to be Paltry, Easy, Tricky or Dangerous. All rivers aid troops defending their banks. Only boats can move along an unfrozen river and then only if it is at least 1 element width wide and not paltry. Fords or undefended bridges do not block boats.

Naval elements in contact with a beach, quay, river bank, road ford or bridge can be in close combat with land elements using their normal combat factors. They can also land troops and cannot then move until troops re-embark. Naval movement is in difficult going if galleys in strong winds, boats moving up-river, or ships if there is no wind or headed within 45 degrees of directly upwind. Naval elements cannot be deployed on frozen water features.

CROSSING WATER OBSTACLES

Waterways are unfordable except to and from an island. A river can always be crossed by a road ford or bridge. The first element to enter each unfrozen river during the game, or the same river in a different table sector, except by a road ford must dice for its difficulty, adding 2 if in flood and deducting 1 if running to another water feature or a short table edge, 1 if in Summer. Troops wading except across a paltry river or road ford cannot shoot. Naval can pass through friendly or enemy waders, in which case the waders are immediately destroyed, this not counting as in close combat.

If the total score is: less than 3 it is Paltry. It can be waded anywhere in any formation without delay.
3-4 it is Easy. It can be waded anywhere in any formation, but at reduced speed.
5-6 it is Tricky. It can be waded anywhere by a single element or single element-wide column at reduced speed.
7-8 it is Dangerous. It can only be waded by a single element or single element-wide column at reduced speed. Each element must dice again separately as it enters the water, adding 1 if it is a general's element or if an element immediately in front has just crossed successfully. A score of 1 indicates that the element is destroyed by drowning, 2, 3 or 4 that entering the river is now impossible anywhere within 300p that bound, 5 or more that the element can cross safely.

A frozen river or waterway is impassable to naval elements and good going to land elements. Demoralised land elements fleeing across a bridge or a frozen river, frozen waterway or frozen marsh must each dice and score at least 2 to survive.

CLIMATE, AGGRESSION AND TERRAIN (ARMY LIST BOOKS)

The second line of each list specifies the army's home climate, its aggression factor, and codes for the types of terrain that can be chosen if it is the defender. Types shown in bold letters are compulsory. Even if not listed, a single patch of coastal sand dunes or marsh can always be used if successfully positioned in contact with a waterway, or a single patch of marsh if successfully positioned in contact with a river, or up to 3 open fields if in contact with a BUA and enclosed fields are not specified. A hill cannot have any kind of surface not permitted on the flat.